§ 9311. Twenty years or more: regular or reserve commissioned officers

• (a) The Secretary of the Air Force may, upon the officer’s request, retire a regular or reserve commissioned officer of the Air Force or the Space Force who has at least 20 years of service computed under section 9326 of this title , at least 10 years of which have been active service as a commissioned officer.
• (b)
  • (1) The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of the Air Force, during the period specified in paragraph (2), to reduce the requirement under subsection (a) for at least 10 years of active service as a commissioned officer to a period (determined by the Secretary of the Air Force) of not less than eight years.
  • (2) The period specified in this paragraph is the period beginning on January 7, 2011 , and ending on September 30, 2018 .